Chatter filled the air in the packed Central Services auditorium Tuesday morning.

Pastors, county residents, county commissioners, law enforcement, school principals, NAACP members and school personnel waited 40 minutes as the school board discussed who they would name as the next Cleveland County Schools superintendent.

When the board emerged, board member Phillip Glover made a motion to approve a four-year employment contract for Stephen Fisher as superintendent. Fisher is currently the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for Cleveland County Schools.

Board member Richard Hooker seconded the motion.

Split decision

But three of the nine board members - including the two newest members of the board - voted against the decision. Donnie Thurman Jr., Danny Blanton and Roger Harris said they were disappointed the new superintendent was not an external candidate.

Harris said the community and staff wanted a superintendent with integrity, committed to children and experience in the classroom.

“Dr. Fisher meets all those criteria. However a significant number of citizens in the survey responded, and have said to me personally that our school system would be served by selecting a candidate from outside Cleveland County,” Harris said. “I believe that every organization is well served from time to time with the injection of new blood. Fresh eyes can see ways to do things better more efficiently.”

Opportunities for public participation were held in March to hear what the community wanted in a new superintendent. Along with public participation, roughly 1,100 surveys were filled out through the Cleveland County Schools website.

“I am excited for the opportunity that lies ahead. Cleveland County Schools is extremely fortunate to work with a great staff,” Fisher said. “I believe in making our students career and college ready. I am excited about the opportunity that lay ahead for the school district.”

'We failed to follow the public's direction'

Fisher's announcement comes on the heels of recent sex allegations against former county school teachers, credit card spending controversies that drew headlines in recent years and budget shortfalls that continue to affect county classrooms.

“With all the past controversies and current issues going on in the school system, the citizens felt like we should have a better chance to correct issues and move forward if we hired someone without any ties to the current administration,” Blanton said. “As a board, we failed to follow the public’s direction once again.”

The superintendent search began in February. A consultant was hired for $15,000 to help with the search.

“The board spent $15,000 for consultants to help us find the most qualified candidate,” Blanton said. “To the public, it appears that we wasted tax payer money again, because we didn’t select someone from outside the school system.”

Page 2 of 4 - However, the three board members said though they disagreed with the choice, they would not work against Fisher.

“Although my opinion on who should have been selected is not the wish of the majority- I want to make this clear: I will not work against Dr. Fisher, I will work with him to ensure the success of our school system,” Thurman said. “I will challenge him as he challenges us - and I will hold him accountable to the vision that he has set for Cleveland County Schools - to be the premier school system in our state.”

NAACP calls for resignation

After the meeting, members of the NAACP held a public meeting on the steps of the Central Services building.

“There was little to no transparency during this hiring process. I am ready to hold the board members accountable,” said Cleveland County NAACP President Dante Murphy. “I want to go on the record by calling Dr. Fisher to resign and to spare us the agony. The school board needs to look for a new candidate and every city group needs to join in the protest.”

This was not a race issue, but a hiring process issue, Washington Missionary Baptist Pastor Melvin Clark said.

“We are planning on protesting high school events and functions to let them know we disagree,” Clark said. “This is not a race thing; this is a fight thing for better schools.”

The board members who voted for Fisher said they believed he would take Cleveland County Schools to the next level.

“As a board we don’t always agree,” said board member Shearra Miller. “But we come to a consensus and respect decisions.”

Working 16 years in the county

Fisher started his teaching career in Gaston County and moved to Cleveland County in 1998 to teach high school math.

Fisher was the assistant principal of Kings Mountain Middle School from 2003 to 2008. He then served as the director of administrative services for five years, before his promotion last year to assistant superintendent.

Details from current superintendent Bruce Boyles contract includes a base pay of $148,400; paid sick and vacation leave; and $800 per month for in-county travel.

-The board shall pay the superintendent’s membership charges for membership in a reasonable number of professional or civic organizations approved by the board chairperson.

-The board recognizes in order to fulfill the superintendent’s duties; he will need to have use of portable technology. The board agrees to reimburse the superintendent for the cost of handheld communication devices.

Page 3 of 4 - - Any insurance or benefits provided to the superintendent by the State of NC to which the superintendent is entitled as an employee of the school system, including health insurance. The board will pay for medical coverage for the superintendent's family through the NC State Health Plan and dental adn vision coverage for the superintendent's family through plans of the board's choice, except the board shall not pay for the superintendent's wife's insurance coverage at any time that she has coverage offered as a benefit through her employer. The board will pay $250,000 of term life insurance for the superintendent during the term of his employment contract.

Here is a sampling of the statements each board member made about how they voted:

“We received a lot of very qualified applicants and it made the search very difficult to narrow. Even when you think you know someone, you find something that surprises you. I saw strengths in Stephen Fisher that I had not seen and I was impressed. I look forward to the school system becoming a premiere school system.”

-Shearra Miller

“One goal of mine is to find the very best person to Cleveland County Schools. I did not go in with bias of race, age or experience when we started. I studied applications with great detail. Of the 90,000 people in our county, only 1,136 of the community took the survey. I am in support of Dr. Fisher.”

-Jerry Hoyle

“I let Dr. Fisher know that I will support and help him any way I can as a board member. I also let him know that many of the issues I have been discussing like the financial abuses and hiring practices will still remain a problem in the school system and that I expect him to make real, lasting and positive changes. Folks who have done wrong need to be held accountable.”

-Danny Blanton

“I was impressed with Dr. Fisher’s vision to move forward. My beliefs were his views are in line with the team effort. I am confident of his strategic leadership. Fisher is committed to diversity in the work force.”

-Richard Hooker

“Initially, I was very upset and disappointed that the majority did not choose the candidate that I wanted, and I fought very hard to convince them otherwise. I have now come to terms that the candidate that I chose who was from outside of this county will not be the choice here today. I do, however, respect the decision of the rest of our board members today, and while I disagree with their selection, I honor and value their opinion. I do realize that I am only one vote of nine. My voting ‘No’ today does not represent a lack of confidence in the candidate that is being chosen today, it just means that I simply believed that there was a better, more experienced candidate that we could have chosen.”

Page 4 of 4 - -Donnie Thurman, Jr.

“I spent many sleepless nights over this decision. I believe Dr. Fisher is the best selection.”

-Kathy Falls

“Student success is the main issue that Dr. Fisher concentrates on. He was a successful student, leader and administrator in this county. I hold him accountable to carry the school system on to a higher level.”

-Phillip Glover

“There is a small number of people in our community who believe that our school system is broken and needs fixing. I do not share that view, but that does not mean that I do not see the value of bringing fresh faces and new energy to Cleveland County Schools to make an already outstanding school system even better. During our search we found remarkably qualified candidates from outside Cleveland County. One candidate would have brought a wealth of exceptional academic skills and a unique leadership style to our schools. I would have preferred that we selected a candidate with those qualities outside Cleveland County.”

-Roger Harris

“I disagree that the county was wasting money on a consultant. As a school system we owed the county a good candidate. We as a board are elected to try to make unbiased decisions.”

-Jack Hamrick

11:58 a.m.

The Cleveland County School Board voted Tuesday morning to select Dr. Stephen Fisher as the new superintendent.